Hobby What

I was asked to make some wooden toys recently so after some thought .Hobby horses and dragons would be traditional but with a twist.

They still need a lot of smoothing and sanding but you get the idea .A hazel shank will provide the stick part, this will look better than a brush handle. Hopefully I can find some thin leather strap somewhere to make nice reins for them all .Here are the dragons and horses so far (made with two good eyes again) :)

Put The Boat Down!

The other day we were returning from a day out when we noticed a cruise liner in the river forth .So we stopped for a look at this huge vessel in the shaddow of forth rail bridge. Matthew acted out some gullivers travels and had the ship in his hand, its good to see ships like this coming to our part of the world, the tourism helps the economy too .Heres the Costa Magica, Matthew and the Forth Rail Bridge :)

Harvest, Berries,Boards And A Sore Eye

The harvest is under way around my part of the world . Golden straw lies in thick carpets up and down the fields.

Berries and fruits are now hanging from the trees here are this years plump rowan berries bright orange at present they will soon turn red as summer gives way to autumn. And some cherries on the (Gean)a cherry tree which is often planted along the edges of plantations of spruce pine and larch. Small birds will soon prize these fruits.

I have prepared some boards for a small chest that I wanted to build out of some spalted beech, that has been kicking around in the shed for a while .Here's the start of this chest . And the end of the shed for a wee bit, as while driving with the window down returning from a day out, a speck of dust blew in through the window and. straight into my eye . No amount of rubbing would get the little aggravator out or eyewash. So a wait at A&E was in order, where they froze the movement of my eye and removed the speck checked my eye through a machine and told me, that with all my rubbing I had badly scratched the surface of my eye .So some time out away from the dust in the shed will help along with the eyedrops ;)

Jumps And Skids

The good weather has been with us lately dewy mornings, hot days and warm evenings this urges me to get on my bike so.I cycled along past blackness through the woods to Hopetoun, I passed all the fancy new jumps for the Hopetoun horse trials this weekend. All made beautifully from either oak or larch, a long time ago I helped build horse jumps here too, when I worked there in woods as a forester.On the canal towpath on my way home I skidded to a halt when some little creatures ventured onto my path .When I took a closer look I found two little water voles the third had wandered back into the undergrowth .Normally to see an adult water vole would be rare so I was pleased to get close enough for a good pictures so it was worth the puncture I got from skidding:)

Logs, Trees And Diving For Fish

A good load of logs arrived at the sawmill where I work this week, on a nice new shiny blue log truck. These logs will be cut into fencing and landscaping products.

I wandered through a nice strip of Ash, Sycamore and Oak lots of good straight trees growing here on a steep bank facing the river Forth. These trees will become a valuable crop in years to come:)

On a walk around the loch I spotted a Grebe catching small fish. He bobbed under and stayed down for a spell then popped up again a good distance away, always with a fish,I enjoyed watching this fisherman (centre of this picture):)

Shells And Flowers

Piles of seashells ,foxgloves,honeysuckle and red deer are some of the things I came across . While out cycling along a coastal path on a glorious July day .
Loads of shells lie on the high tide line thrown up into a mound of blue grey, by stormy seas .
The foxgloves and honeysuckle just scream out summer is here, on long warm day's. When I looked through some trees there were a couple of red deer, we startled each other but I managed a picture before they both ran off (centre of green field) I will cycle there again as soon as I can:)

Making Hay

The weather has been great lately, schools out for summer now so I have taken a few days holiday to spend some time with Matthew.
When we were out walking, watching the hay being cut and turned into neat rows. We watched a buzzard hovering over a mouse or vole ready to swoop down and catch his meal which he managed first swoop.
I got a picture of him in the air just ready to drop down. A bit further on we passed Alpaca's that were just as interested in us while we watched them for a while. And the swallows in the sawmill have outgrown their nest,they now just huddle together .Waiting for their mother to return and feed them with the insects that she catches in the woods and fields that surround the sawmill, here's a couple of pictures of the mother flying in with food and her soon ready to fly fledglings. When I go back on wednesday they will be flying :)